Access Info Europe Sept. 22 revealed a leaked copy of a draft Spanish access to information law and opened a public consultation on the nonpublic draft, which Access Info says “falls below prevailing European standards.”
The group has posted a copy of the leaked document on its website.
The government has not officially released its proposal, news of which was revealed in the press in August. (See previous Freedominfo.org report.)
Access Info along with the 40 other NGO members of the Coalicion Pro Acceso have been calling for its publication and for a public consultation around the law, without a response from the government.
The group received a copy of the draft Sept. 21 and invited members of the public to give their input.
According to an Access Info critique on its website, the draft “falls below prevailing European standards” in areas such as:
- The definition of information which excludes large quantities of information
- The limited scope – the administration only and not the legislative and judicial powers
- The long time frames (30 days to answer a request with additional time to provide the information and possible extensions of another 30 days).
The consultation will be open until Oct. 20 and all responses from all perspectives will be forwarded to the government.
For now Spain continues to be the only country in the European Union with a population of more than one million which does not guarantee the right of access to information either in its constitution or in a specific law.
To access the public consultation, visit: http://www.access-info.org/
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